Indian Oil, MRPL tap spot markets to replace Russian supply, sources say

New Delhi/Singapore: State-run refiner Indian Oil is seeking more oil from the Americas while Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) has bought Abu Dhabi crude to replace Russian oil, according to traders and a document reviewed by Reuters on Thursday.

Many Indian refiners paused new orders for Russian oil after the U.S. imposed sanctions last week on Moscow's top two producers, with some turning to the spot market for alternatives, industry sources said.

MRPL has bought 2 million barrels of Abu Dhabi Murban crude from Glencore via a tender to replace Russian supply in December, trade sources said.

The refiner is expected to tap spot markets every month and seek additional supplies from its term suppliers as it has shunned oil from Russia to avoid sanction risks, a company source said.

Indian refiner HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd on Wednesday said it had also stopped buying Russian oil.

IOC has invited initial bids for 24 million barrels of oil from the Americas for the first quarter of 2026, according to a document reviewed by Reuters on Thursday.

The tender seeks cargoes of both low-sulphur and high-sulphur crude oil grades, according to the document.

Indian Oil, the country's biggest refiner, is looking to gauge market interest and select sellers in the event that it needs to buy oil from the Americas, a source aware of the tender told Reuters.

The tender will close on Friday, the source added.

Separately, IOC purchased 2 million barrels of West African crude from Exxon Mobil via a tender on Wednesday, trade sources said.

The purchase was for Mondo from Angola and Utapate from Nigeria for December delivery, they added.

One trader said IOC had received more offers in this tender but awarded just 2 million barrels likely due to high prices.

Reliance

Traders are also watching out for further demand from Reliance Industries which has been India's top Russian oil buyer.

The company has snapped up millions of barrels of crude from the Middle East, the U.S., and Brazil to replace its Russian supply in recent weeks after it halted imports following U.S. sanctions.

Grades it has purchased have included Qatari al-Shaheen, Iraqi Basra Medium, Abu Dhabi's Murban and Upper Zakum, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate, they said.

Reliance, which is controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani and operates the world's biggest refining complex at Jamnagar in western Gujarat state, has a long-term deal to buy nearly 500,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Russia's Rosneft .

Reliance has said it will abide by Western sanctions against Russia while maintaining relations with its current oil suppliers.